Appeal: APNS reacts against levying of taxes

Decision in clear violation of the assurances made by the Shahbaz Sharif that the situation would be reviewed

KARACHI: The All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS) decried the levy of sales tax on newspapers by the Punjab government, contrary to the earlier assurances made by the provincial chief minister. APNS President Hameed Haroon stated that an advertisement of the Punjab government appeared recently in a section of the press in which the Punjab government has announced to extend the regime of sales tax to advertisements appearing in newspapers. This decision was in clear violation of the assurances made by the Shahbaz Sharif that the situation would be reviewed with the office bearers of the APNS and the new sales tax regime would be possibly withdrawn, he maintained. The APNS president urged the Punjab chief minister to take note of these measures to weaken his government by further exacerbating the crisis in Government. In a statement issued on Saturday, the APNS demanded of the Punjab government to cancel the present offending advertisements and also exempt newspapers and magazines from the imposition of GST in the province.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 10^th, 2014.